Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons^™

Psychometric functions (PFs) for forward-masked tones were obtained for conditions in which signal level was varied to estimate threshold at several masker levels (variable-signal condition), and in which masker level was varied to estimate threshold at several signal levels (variable-masker condition). The changes in PF slope across combinations of masker frequency, masker level, and signal delay were explored in three experiments. In experiment 1, a 2-kHz, 10-ms tone was masked by a 50, 70 or 90 dB SPL, 20-ms on-frequency forward masker, with signal delays of 2, 20, or 40 ms, in a variable-signal condition. PF slopes decreased in conditions …